SunnyWorld! The Sickness
by The Other
Summary: In human form, the Sunnies  and RL  are unique - and they come with unique illnesses.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Beep!**_

_**Warnings: Character Death, Suicide, Breakups - generally unhappy feelings.**_

* * *

><p>RYS sobbed into her hand, her cries loud and long as she clutched RL's hand – who was kneeling beside her. He was crying silently, staring at the coffin.<p>

RS was gone.

_Dead_.

There was no doubt – his body was being lowered into the ground and there was not a thing any of them could do.

He was gone and he wasn't coming back.

RYS' sobs made her shudder violently, and she ignored CS as she threw her arms around her girlfriend.

They'd only just lost NS and OS to the sickness – and now RS?

It struck quickly – it _changed_ people. There was no cure – and no way of knowing if it was contagious. It was killing them – their little family – literally _and _figuratively.

"Who's gonna be next, hm?" CS2 screamed at the sky, glaring with all her might as if someone would come down and answer her – tell her why everything was so bad – why everyone was dying.

BG took her arm, forcefully pulling her down and quietening her through her silent sobs. BG was fairly sure everyone had it – it seemed like that was the only likely possibility at the moment.

It was just a matter of time now – their immune systems would react differently, but one by one, they would die.

The signs were obvious now – they would go quiet for a few days, before the fever would take over. It burned them from the inside out and made them irritable and unlike themselves – delirious with pain – but they could still function.

That was the biggest problem about this stupid disease. No matter how much it hurt, it forced the poor victim to move – to talk, to cooperate – to destroy the people around him.

When RS was sick, he would physically and verbally abuse RL – and RL loved him _far _too much to let him rot by himself. Watching him die was the hardest thing RL had to witness in his life – but he did it. But now he was caught by the side-effects of the disease – torn between the internal struggle for marginal sanity or release.

RS's last words were unintelligible – although they were something akin to 'fuck you' – aimed directly at RL, before his eyes closed and the fight left him.

It almost destroyed RL that day.

Now, gathered around his grave, RL would give the world just to have him back. Even if he was hurting him – at least he was still around.

DYS and DPS sat in the grass, silently crying together, their hands clasped and intertwined tightly.

They didn't think it would ever get this bad. And they _knew_ that one day soon, they would lose each other, and _every day_ they spent dreading it and trying to do as much as they could with each other.

'Preparing for the worst', DPS called it.

They all lived together now. They had agreed it was safest – quarantining themselves as best as they could unless they needed supplies. They had a game plan for the next victim – as horrible as it sounded.

They had a basement, and the next person to fall sick would be locked down there. It was safest – it had to be done.

If the victim got out and infected the world…

Occasionally they would cry. Once one person started, the others couldn't help themselves.

They were ticking time bombs, and they all knew it.

^.^

BG was the next to go.

She sat on the couch, tears streaming down her face. CS2 was trying to help her – to find out what was wrong, but all she did was shake her head and continue to cry.

She could feel it building inside her – taking over, preventing her from having the energy to do anything. She would have to be locked away soon. Before she was taken over.

But not yet. Not tonight.

She held CS2 to her, pressing her and inhaling her and trying to memorise _everything_ about her. Maybe if she held on to that memory, the sickness wouldn't be as strong.

RL and RYS had retreated into themselves – grief, not the sickness – and refused to leave their rooms – refused to do anything except eat when they were forced to. CS stayed by RYS' side – attached at her hip and doing _anything_ for her. DYS and DPS _tried_ to work in normalcy throughout their day – trying to spend time together and trying to keep everyone happy.

At dinner, they were all quiet, and BG began to cry again.

This was her last dinner with them – with her family – with the people she loved.

"Guys." She sobbed. "I love you."

In turn, each of their eyes filled with tears as it suddenly dawned on them.

"No…" CS2 whispered. "No. No!"

BG gulped and nodded slightly, and CS2 launched herself, pressing the smaller girl into her arms. BG just sobbed, almost hysterical.

"I'll…should I call CDS and LG?" DYS whispered.

"Not yet." DPS grabbed his hand.

The two of them were on vacation (it took a lot of coaxing) – and had been for several months now. They were the only ones _not_ exposed, and they were being updated but told to stay away.

"How long?" DPS asked gently.

BG managed to calm herself enough to respond. "I felt it for the first time today. I…I just want one more night. Please."

They all nodded, and that night they all stayed in the living room, curled up on three or four mattresses, with BG in the middle. They didn't sleep – they talked, and remembered, and waited.

At dawn, BG lost it, sobbing into her arms with such violent tremors that they worried it was another side-effect. CS2 cuddled into her, crying with her.

"I can't do this." RL whispered. "I can't lose any of you. Not again. Please…make it stop."

CS tucked her head into RYS' neck, not able to handle his moans.

"I love you guys. So much." BG whispered.

CS2 shook her head again. "Don't go."

"I have to. I'm _not_ going to hurt you. I won't let myself." BG sobbed.

"Please. I don't want to lose you!"

They all politely looked away as the two kissed – full of grief and fear and uncertainty – it was their goodbye. Closing her eyes and taking a breath, BG let out another sob before shaking her head and swallowing.

"I'll…I'll see you on the other side, yeah?" she tried with a tiny smile, and they each moved in to hug her, saying what they could before letting CS2 walk her down the basement stairs.

It wasn't fair. None of them wanted it – none of them liked it.

But it had to be done.

Four days later, her pained screams were silenced, and she was dead.

CS2 knew it first - she had been sitting on the basement stairs, talking to her, crying and singing to her.

And then she stopped shrieking back.

^.^

"I can't do this anymore." CS2 mumbled, slumped on the kitchen counter, three days after BG's funeral.

"We'll get through this." DYS tried to reassure her.

"We're all _sick_." She spat back, and DYS recoiled. "We're all _dying_, and we can't do a _fucking_ thing about it."

"CS2, calm down." DPS hissed, glaring at her, panic slowly rising in his chest.

His phone broke the uneasy silence and he glanced at it.

"It's CDS."

"Hello?"

"_DPS…"_

"What's wrong? You sound upset."

"_LG's in hospital…"_

"What?"

"_I think it's this…sickness. She was really quiet one morning – she didn't want to get up, she didn't want food or anything…and I remembered the symptoms you described. I've just taken her in…"_

"Oh god, CDS…I'm so sorry…"

"_Why? The doctors will look after her…right?" _he was borderline hysterical, which was new for CDS.

"We…we took NS to the hospital…she was the first – we took her when she stopped eating too." DPS said softly. "They couldn't find a _thing_ wrong with her – they thought we were playing a joke. Everything was normal."

"…_what happened then?"_

"She started…being violent and she got a fever, so we took her back in. The fever was the only thing they could find, so they strapped her down and fed her…so many things. So many drugs – they tried to cool her down but she just…she couldn't stay still…she was thrashing and they had to sedate her so they could get more drugs into her."

"_Did they work!"_

"What do you think?"

"_She died in hospital?"_

"Yeah. With no improvement. She just dropped dead." DPS was tearing up again, and DYS took his hand as CS2 sobbed. "I'm so sorry CDS…there's nothing we can do anymore…"

"_What did you do when BG died?"_

"We called the ambulance. They perform autopsies…they don't find anything wrong. They assume they've died from something they ate or drank – even if they can't find it in their systems…they just don't understand." He sighed heavily.

"_It leaves no trace?"_

"None at all."

"_Fuck. Fuck…fucking hell." _CDS cursed, "_What the hell do I do?"_

"Find somewhere…lock her up CDS. You'll get hurt otherwise."

"_I don't fucking care what the hell happens to me. We…" _he paused. "_We got back together."_

"I'm so sorry…" DPS was holding back sobs, tears streaming down his face.

"…_whatever. I'll call you if anything happens."_

"Good luck."

They hung up just as CS and RYS wandered down the stairs, catching DPS sobbing into DYS' shoulder.

"What's wrong? What happened?" RYS' eyes flicked around the room, doing a headcount.

"LG's got it." He whispered. "The sickness."

CS paled, sinking down on a seat and putting her head in her hands.

RYS let out a suppressed breath. "Why us? It's not happening to _anyone _else – there's nothing on the news about it, nothing on the internet._"_

"We've always been different." RL said from the stairs, his face pale and his eyes sunken. "Ever since we were kids, we were different from the others. Almost like we were the new breed of human…but we're faulty."

CS2 burst into a fresh round of tears.

"Fuck this. Okay, just…fuck it all."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:** **More beeps**_

_**Warning: Character Death, Suicide, Breakups - generally unhappy feelings.**_

* * *

><p>"Have you seen CS2 today?" DPS asked over dinner the next night.<p>

Frowning, each of them shook their heads, and RL stood up. "I'll check on her."

"You sure?" DYS asked and he nodded, leaving the table quickly.

It was ten minutes before RL bolted down the stairs, eyes wide.

"Call an ambulance. Now!"

"The sickness?" CS' eyes welled up.

"They can't do anything for her." RYS reminded him sadly, but he shook his head.

"Get an ambulance. Now."

DPS frowned, pulling out his phone and dialling the hospital. "What's wrong…?"

"She's…" he held up his hand – it was an empty bottle of sleeping tablets. "It was in her hand…and it's empty."

RYS' eyes widened, and DYS' eyes closed sadly.

Ten minutes later, the ambulances arrived and tried to revive her – but it was no use.

She was dead.

^.^

"There's seven of us left." CS muttered a few days after her funeral.

"Seven of twelve. Almost half of us are gone." RYS mused.

"Guys, shh." DPS said softly, stroking DYS' hair as he cried.

"CS2 had it right." RL muttered. "Offing herself before she had to deal with the…sickness…or anymore heartache."

"Guys." DPS warned them.

"I'm sick of this." RYS muttered.

"Stop dwelling." DPS half-shouted.

They had all jumped at his voice, and he let out a sigh.

"Someone call CDS…see what's happening with LG."

RYS pulled out her phone, punching in CDS' number before silently waiting.

With a frown, she hung up.

"His phone's been disconnected…"

DYS let out another sob, and DPS paled. "_Shit."_

CS' hand ran through her hair. "What does that even mean?"

"It means LG's dead." RL whispered. "He's…he's either contracted it himself, or he's done the same thing CS2's done. But…it doesn't look like we'll be contacting him any time soon."

"Five then." RYS whispered.

"What if he isn't dead?" DYS suddenly asked. "What if he's in the hospital – and he had to turn his phone off?"

"DYS…" RYS said gently as DPS stroked his hand. "CDS…he's not the type to follow rules. And you know that."

"We need to assume the worst."

^.^

It had been two months since NS first contracted the disease.

In two months, seven of them were gone. Wiped out so quickly by a freak disease.

In two months, RL had become a shell of the man he used to be – drained completely of emotion. He slumped around the house, occasionally tidying but mostly just doing _nothing._

RYS and CS were quiet – not sickness quiet, but just quiet - RYS was having trouble getting over RS, not to mention her other friends.

They'd realised it wasn't contagious when RL still hadn't gotten sick – he'd spent every minute with RS once he got sick. It was in their blood – and they were still waiting.

The morning, a month after RS had died, DPS woke up with a weird feeling in his stomach.

"Shit…" he whispered,

DYS was immediately up beside him, groggily wiping at his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Uhh…" He swallowed hard. "I…I think I'm sick."

DYS froze, tears pooling in his eyes. "As in…?"

DPS nodded slowly and DYS clung to him, shaking his head. "No…please. It's not. It's just…maybe you're hungry?"

DPS shook his head. "It's nothing like I've ever felt before. It's…weird."

"Shut up." He whispered. "Shut up. It's not weird…you're fine."

DPS' eyes closed and his arms curled around DYS gently, kissing his forehead.

"I'm staying with you." He whispered. "I don't care if we lock ourselves up. I'm not leaving you."

"You can't…"

"I am. And you can't stop me."

"I can." DPS whispered.

DYS faltered, nestling into DPS. "Will you?"

DPS let out a small breath. "Only if you want me to."

"I don't want you to. I don't care if you hit me. I don't care if you…if you break up with me right there. I'm not leaving you. I love you."

DPS just nodded, tears streaming down his face as he held DYS closer.

"When…when are you going to tell them?"

"Later." DPS whispered. "This morning is just about us…"

^.^

Around midday, DPS and DYS emerged from the bedroom, showered and clasping hands.

"What's going on?" RYS asked softly.

"I'm sick. And DYS is refusing to leave me." DPS stated plainly, and CS and RL's eyes widened.

"You're awfully calm for someone who'll turn into a monster in a few days." RL said softly, and DPS shrugged.

"I've…come to terms, I guess. I believe in the afterlife. I'll be back." He said softly, and RL raised an eyebrow.

DYS squeezed his hand gently, and RYS pulled DPS into a hug.

"This sucks." She whispered as CS moved in to hug him as well.

"Yeah." Was all DPS said.

RL shook his hand and he nodded at them all, patting DYS' hair comfortingly as he started to tear up.

"It's been a pleasure knowing you all." DPS said softly, tears welling in his eyes. "Thanks guys."

They gave him a wave – it all seemed so surreal – how they could just say goodbye so easily.

But it _was_ easy now. It was the three or four days that he would spend as a monster – when they could hear his cries and how upset he was – that were the hardest. Knowing that he wasn't going to die in the next twenty-four hours was easier to cope with.

Hand in hand, DPS and DYS entered the basement, and they heard the lock click behind them. It was fully furnished – a toilet, shower, towels, sinks, a low stocked fridge and two beds.

It was then that DPS broke down.

"I don't want this." He whispered. "I don't. I don't want to die. I don't want to leave you…oh my god."

DYS cried with him, hugging him tightly.

"I don't want you to have to go it alone. But god, _please_ don't kill yourself. Please. You might even survive…" he sobbed. "I'm sorry…"

DYS stared into his eyes, welling with tears. "You're apologising for dying?" he half-chuckled, half-sobbed. "You're an idiot."

"I'm also a dying idiot, if you hadn't realised." DPS said softly, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend.

"Yeah…but that doesn't matter right now." DYS reassured him, pulling him close. "All that matters now is us."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: ...**_

_**Warning: Character Death, Suicide, Breakups - generally unhappy feelings.**_

* * *

><p>It was only a day, before DPS got properly sick. He woke up before dawn in DYS' arms, his green eyes dark as he tore himself away.<p>

He started pacing – managing to do it without DYS waking up.

He paced for four hours, before DYS finally stirred.

"Babe…?"

"Shut up." DPS hissed, and DYS' eyes went wide.

"So this is it?" DYS asked gently, his knees folding to his chest.

"I said shut up." He growled, and he shifted backwards, leaning against the wall.

He waited silently, watching DPS pace back and forth for half an hour, before he _needed_ to get up. He silently slipped off the bed, watching DPS cautiously, but he didn't look over at him – barely acknowledge the fact that he was there.

He took a shower and got dressed again, making himself breakfast while DPS still paced. He stared at the cereal, deciding he didn't want any before turning to DPS.

"You want some breakfast?"

DPS didn't respond, mumbling to himself as he paced. DYS took a deep breath, willing himself not to cry as he fixed a bowl of cereal.

"DPS…" DYS whispered. "Come here?"

DPS paused, his eyes clearing for a split second, before they darkened again and he launched himself at DYS, spilling the cereal over them as his hand clenched around DYS' throat. The blonde wheezed, panic rising in his chest as DPS' face growled at him.

"Kill me." DYS hissed. "At least then I'd get to die with you."

Something seemed to snap, and his eyes cleared and widened.

"Oh my god!" he all but shrieked, backing off, his eyes wide.

"DPS…?"

"Get out." He whispered. "Please. Get out. I don't want to hurt you."

"No."

"I'll call RL…" he threatened. "I don't want to kill you."

"I'm dying." DYS whispered. "I'm dying too. I've felt it since last night."

DPS paused. "That's why you didn't eat…"

DYS nodded sadly, tears springing to his eyes. "It's better this way. At least we'll…At least I won't be alone for too long."

"We could give up now." DPS whispered. "While we're both still capable of…rational thought."

"Suicide counts as rational, hm?"

DPS managed a grin. "Better than our fate, I guess."

DYS glanced over at the pills on the counter. "We could."

"I'd prefer it." DPS stepped forward, kissing him gently. "I don't want you to ever have to be alone."

"Then we'll do it."

DPS nodded, reaching for the bottle.

He emptied half in DYS' palm, half in his own.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

^.^

It had been six days since DYS and DPS went to the basement.

"We should hear screaming by now." CS muttered morbidly.

"You think they survived?" RYS' lit up.

"Probably not." RL said softly.

"I'm going to check." RYS stood up, and CS shadowed her.

They stepped down to the basement, using their key to unlock the door before peering in hesitantly.

The room was clean – nothing had been turned over. Finally, they found DPS and DYS curled into each other, their foreheads pressed together.

"Sleeping?" CS whispered, but RYS shook her head.

"Suicide." She whispered with a heavy sigh. "Go get RL…tell him to call the ambulance again.

"They're going to start thinking _we _killed them."

^.^

"Ten." RL muttered.

DYS and DPS had been taken away, and the cops had come to investigate.

"And how many are there now?"

"Three."

"So tell me what happened."

"NS got sick. We took her to the hospital and they didn't find anything. So we took her home and the next day she started raging – it was the maddest we've ever seen her – throwing stuff around and beating OS up. We took her back to the hospital and she died there."

"Did they know what was wrong?" the officer interrupted.

"Nope." RYS continued. "It was unexplainable, even with an autopsy."

"Alright, please continue."

"The same thing happened to NS, then RS, then BG. CS2 killed herself – BG was her girlfriend – then DPS got sick and DYS stayed with him. They committed suicide before the sickness could take effect."

"Alright, and are any of you sick?"

"Not yet." CS whispered.

"Alright. I'm going to call for back-up, and we're going to get a nurse in here full-time. She'll monitor you."

"It won't help." RL muttered.

"Yeah, but I'm making sure there isn't anything happening in this household."

"Oh…right." RYS muttered. "CS said it was a bit suspicious."

The officer snorted, pulling out his mobile and stepping outside.

"Way to be subtle…" RL muttered sadly, but she shrugged, pulling CS towards her. "I think I'm going to be next."

Both girls watched him, wide-eyed.

"What?"

"I have a feeling it'll be me." He seemed relaxed.

"Are you going to…off yourself?" CS asked. "Halfway through?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I'll let it consume me…the way it did RS." He smiled fondly. "Then we can be together."

RYS smiled – slightly. "You sure? We can get some more tablets."

He shook his head firmly. "I want to be the monster. What about you two?"

RYS shrugged. "I try not to think about it."

CS smiled, hugging her. "No matter what you become - even if it is a monster, I wouldn't leave you."

RYS raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I love you."

RL managed to smile at them, breaking out into a small grin as they kissed. The officer re-entered their house half an hour later – a nurse in tow.

"Do you have a guest room she can stay in?" he asked.

"We have several now." RL said, and showed her up.

"She'll stay here until this sickness strikes again." The officer informed RYS and CS, giving them a hard glare.

They just nodded – they had nothing to be guilty for.

Finally, the officer left and the nurse busied herself – leaving RL, RYS and CS to themselves.

"I guess we wait then." RL muttered.

"Yeah…no…we're going to bed." RYS announced, and CS nodded, playing with RYS' fingers. "Good luck with tonight."

"Mm. Luck."


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: ;_;**_

_**Warning: Character Death, Suicide, Breakups - generally unhappy feelings.**_

* * *

><p>It was another two days before the sickness struck again.<p>

"This sucks." RYS sobbed, her head in her hands.

"What's it feel like?" RL asked, his eyes wide as the nurse took her temperature.

"Like…a boulder." She whispered. "It's like it's crawling around my stomach…telling my organs to weigh me down."

CS was crying, holding RYS close.

The nurse was taking her temperature, a frown on her face. "You're not warm. There's nothing wrong with you."

CS frowned. "Isn't that what we told you?"

The nurse faltered. "What I'm saying is that it's probably just a weird feeling. Anxiety – maybe you're fearing it'll happen, so it's manifesting itself into a worry boulder."

All three of them stared at her incredulously.

"Do you want to go down tonight?" RL asked, completely ignoring the nurse.

RYS shook her head. "Not tonight. Tomorrow night."

"Are you going with her?" RL asked CS, who nodded.

RYS didn't say anything to that, just slumping on the kitchen counter.

"Are you sure you-"

"Shut up, okay." RL barked at the nurse. "Just let us deal. You can go with them – you can be ripped to shreds by the _thing"_ RYS flinched. "That she becomes, but don't you dare tell us that this is nothing – that our friends have died because they've been 'afraid' of catching a disease – don't you dare."

The nurse, looking embarrassed, nodded with a quick, soft apology, before retreating upstairs.

RYS let out a quiet whimper and her head hit the table with a thwack, before CS held her again.

"Why?"

^.^

"How do you feel this morning?" CS whispered on their second day in the basement.

The nurse was taking her temperature.

"Not good." RYS admitted, her voice cracking slightly, her eye twitching.

"You have a fever." The nurse said softly.

"No shit." CS muttered.

The nurse ignored her. "The fever is the only thing that's really outstanding. I think she'll be alright now."

"You don't know." CS murmured sadly. "You don't know what we've been through – what we've had to endure. You don't know what's going to happen and you need to sit and watch."

The nurse was silent again, and RYS shuddered slightly, dipping her head.

"You okay?"

"No."

"What's wrong?"

"It's…" she gasped, her arms curling around her stomach. "Fuck it hurts…"

The nurse watched, a little wide-eyed as RYS rocked slowly, taking gasping breaths.

"This didn't happen with the others…" CS started to panic, her eyes wide and her face pale.

"I…_ugh_…I think it's…different…" RYS gasped. "…each time…Remember…NS…she didn't…_fuck_…she was…hurting too."

CS pulled RYS into her arms, but the taller girl pushed her away. "Please. Just…don't touch me.

CS frowned, but backed off. The nurse looked slightly worried.

"I'm going to get you some tablets for your stomach."

"They won't help." CS snapped.

"Well she's going to try them." The nurse said firmly. "It can't hurt."

CS gave up and allowed the nurse to leave. RYS continued to hold her stomach, wincing in pain and gasping for lungful's of air when she could.

"RYS…"

"Please, just…shh…"

CS' eyes closed sadly, dipping her head – unable to watch RYS in pain anymore. The nurse returned with tablets and water, which RYS took willingly.

"They should start to work almost immediately." The nurse said, and RYS nodded, taking a deep breath.

Fifteen minutes later, she was still in pain.

The nurse frowned, glancing at CS. "Has this ever happened before?"

CS glared at her. "You don't get it, do you? She's _sick. _She is _dying_ of a _sickness._ So you can go back to the police and tell them that we aren't murderers, and that there _is_ such a thing, okay? Just…piss off and let this happen."

The nurse finally gave in with a small nod, her expression sour, and left the basement.

There was a banging from above them.

"Keep it down!" RL yelled, and RYS let out a weak smile.

"I need to go back to sleep." She whispered, holding her arms out. "C'mere."

CS let out a sigh of relief, running into RYS' arms and holding her close.

"I'm sorry I got snappy." RYS whispered, burying her face into CS' hair and kissing at her forehead. "I don't want to get snappy."

"I forgive you." CS whispered. "I'll always forgive you."

RYS gave a gasp of pain and she curled up, but CS curled up behind her and held her stomach, kissing her neck and trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…for anything that happens…anything I do…"

"I'll forgive you." CS whispered, kissing her neck again. "I love you."

"I love you too."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Warnings: Character Death, Suicide, Breakups - generally unhappy feelings.**_

* * *

><p>"I hate you!" RYS screamed – shrieked, bellowed, screeched – every other synonym CS could think of, because there was no accurate representation of the noise RYS was making.<p>

Hell, CS thought she could feel the walls shake.

A slap across her cheek sent CS flying onto a mattress, and suddenly RYS was on top of her, kissing her senseless. CS was disoriented as RYS' wandering hands groped down her body, before a firm fist was slammed into her stomach.

CS cried out and wheezed, trying to roll away, but RYS held her down, sending a few more fists into her chest.

"RYS…please…" she coughed, and the girl backed off, an animalistic growl escaping her lips.

CS took the moment to breathe – there was no way she was going to try and confront RYS again – not yet. Her lip was bleeding, and her stomach felt like it had been ripped into a million pieces.

"Oh my god." RYS' eyes widened.

She'd done this a few times now – snapping back and forth between sane and insane. In this state of sanity, he was feverish and sick – shuddering and coughing, but she managed to move to CS' side.

"I'm so sorry." She whimpered, being cut off by a cough that wracked her body.

CS shook her lip, sucking the blood from her lip into her mouth. "It's okay. It's okay."

"It's not." She cried. "It's not."

She let out another scream as _something_ took her over, and she crumpled to the ground.

"RYS?"

"Fuck off you little fucking faggot."

CS' eyes widened.

"You think you're so fucking precious, don't you? Dating me – when I could have _anyone. Anyone_ I wanted. I wonder why I fucking settle for you? Haven't _you_ wondered?" RYS cried. "It's because you're a fucking good lay, and that's the only reason. It's not your personality, it's not your looks. It's because you're fun to screw."

CS' eyes pooled with tears – she had to remind herself that it wasn't RYS. It wasn't.

It wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't.

"Stop convincing yourself that I'm lying, because every word is true."

And then CS saw it – a glimmer of sanity behind RYS' eyes – and the girl hunched over and let out a whimper.

"CS, please. Don't listen to it. I can't…I can't control it and it's saying things and I can-"

She screamed out again.

"Fuck you CS. Fuck you-"

She couldn't take it anymore.

She stood up and RYS faltered, frowning in concern, but before she could do anything, CS was sobbing and running out the door, locking it behind her.

"CS, get the fuck back here!"

CS, with her back to the door, slid down, sitting with her knees tucked to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

There was another scream from behind the door, and RYS' panicky voice – her real voice - floated through.

"CS…oh god CS, I'm so sorry…"

"I can't do this anymore. I can't." CS whispered, loud enough to carry through the thick door.

"No, CS _please_, don't leave me. Don't make me do this alone. Please CS, I'm _so_ scared."

It was almost enough to convince her to go back into the room.

"CS, _please_, I love you _so_ much…I can't…you're helping, and…"

She screamed in pain, and the bitch was back.

"You know what CS, fuck you. You weren't even that good in bed. I'm still wondering why I wasted the good years of my life with you."

"You're done?" RL appeared from the top of the stairs, sympathetic eyes turned towards CS.

"I can't…I'm sorry, I just…I can't."

"What happened to not leaving me?" the insane, bitch RYS called, angrily drumming her fists on the wall. "I'm a monster, aren't I? And you're leaving. Don't you love me anymore? What happened to not being able to stand to be away from the person you love, hm?"

"You're not that person anymore!" CS screamed back, silencing RYS.

Tears streamed down her face and RL held his hand out for her, and she took it gratefully.

"I know it's hard." RL soothed, taking her into the living room.

"How did you cope?"

RL looked down at his dishevelled appearance, blinking at her through half-lidded, sunken eyes.

"Right."

"Whatever she said…it's not true. It's the sickness talking, and that's all it is."

Shrieks from the basement made them pause, and CS winced, her sobs making her shake violently.

"Don't think about the negatives. Remember how she used to be – before this all started."

CS' eyes closed and she really struggled to remember their relationship – god, why was it so hard?

"Why was she worse than the others?"

"Because of you. There's the emotional attachment that keeps her brain active. I think. It was the same with RS. He'd jump so frequently…BG didn't have CS2 with her – even talking to her through the door wasn't enough – she needed the contact."

CS let out a dejected sigh, slumping over the table.

"I don't want to die." She whispered.

"Nobody really does…" RL soothed.

"Do you?"

"I wouldn't mind…"

"Why don't you kill yourself then?" she asked seriously, and he shrugged.

"There's no challenge." He whispered. "RS died so…bravely, and with a badass attitude. I want to go like that."

CS managed a nod before RYS screamed again, and she burst into a fresh set of tears.

^.^

CS was kept up all night by RYS – even when her screams of agony died to angry groans, CS couldn't sleep.

Finally, when the groans died to nothing, CS slept.

RYS' funeral was held a few days later – the police were no longer suspicious – and CS and RL were the only ones in attendance. With all the deaths, people had ostracised them – not that many people came anyway.

CS sat by the filled grave, sifting the new dirt gently. She couldn't cry anymore – it was too hard to work up enough moisture in her eyes. RL stood behind her – a couple of steps back – patiently waiting.

He had withdrawn further into himself – barely talking – only when he had something particularly important to say.

"What happens when I get sick?" CS whispered.

RL raised an eyebrow.

"You'll be all alone."

"Who says I won't get sick first?" he murmured.

"You won't. It'll be me."

He stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue.

"Will you live in that house still? Just waiting for the sickness to get you? Or will you travel? Do stuff you haven't yet."

She continued to ramble to herself – and RL had to stop and wonder.

He'd be all alone – no friends, no more family…

What _would_ he do?


End file.
